Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Search This Blog

Signing of 'The One You Cannot Have.'

'Preeti, the books have arrived. Around 3000 copies will reach your home at 5.30 pm. It's a request--could you please sign 1500 copies by tomorrow morning? Because they have to be dispatched to places all across India.'

This was the regional manager of Westland speaking to me, on Monday afternoon.

I was flabbergasted. How in the world would I be able to sign 1500 copies by next morning?
It was excessive pressure on me. It seemed like an inexecutable task.
I told him that I will do as many as is humanly possible.

The boxes arrived. There were about 50 of them.

I called up Satish at work and told him my predicament.

"Don't worry. You can do it. I will come and help you,' he said.

He was true to his word. He came early from work to help me unpack the boxes.

"How will I sign so many by tomorrow morning?" I asked, still skeptical.
"If it has to be done, it has to be done. Just think, so many people are waiting to read this. Let's just do it," he said.
We cleared six seater rectangular dining table .
This is how it looked before we began.

Then Satish started piling up the books in neat piles of 15 books,stacked on top of each other.

I began signing.

And signing

And signing.

It was back-breaking work. After a while my hands hurt, my neck hurt and my vision started blurring.
I took a short break.

Comments

You are such a powerful person ma'am! So much dedication and commitment towards your readers is so endearing. Thanks a lot :) I am eagerly waiting to have my pre-ordered copy of the the one you cannot have! Thanks to Satish Sir and your dog as well in supporting you in completing the mammoth task. Rest well :)

You are really amazing Preeti! This is another reason why you are one of my favorite authors. Thanks to your love for your fans, you gave up everything so that you could sign the books in time for them to be sent to those who had pre-ordered them. I know for sure everyone is going to really appreciate you for that! Way to go Preeti. Get well soon and hope you can catch up on your sleep!!!!! :-)

When we have to sign 15 to 20 times for a bank document we lose our patience and you sign 3000 copies of pre order every time..hats off..that's the reason why your fans love you..good luck for your new book. I hope it will TOUCH people as it always does..

Oh my God ! it' so touching ! no words are enough to appreciate your will and sense of commitment !! I am feeling bad already.. for having pre-ordered a copy like always.. somehow put you through this ! THANK YOU !! loads of love :)

I can't thank you enough Preeti..Writing the book itself must have deprived you of many things and now,signing the copies.We sincerely appreciate your efforts and big Thank You for loving us so much.The sight of you with the pile of books is making me irresistible , just like a child who cannot wait to have his piece of cake at a birthday party.I will surely enjoy your work..:)

WOW..I received a reply(first one ) from you...you made my day...:) I pre-ordered my copy but still I didn't get it...:( I totally loved "Life is what you make it" and "The Secret Wishlist".I like the way you make the female protagonist so strong,I wish I were like that....Very inspiring.By the way,whenever I read your books,I feel like you are sitting next to me and telling me the story personally.Love ya...:)

I am very impressed by your sincere effort to make sure that every one gets a personally signed copy ! I have read all your books and I find it quite down-to-earth in approach.Usually I wait till the books arrive at my local library, but seeing this honest post made me rush to Flipkart to get a personally signed pre-order copy...And I got a message that it will be delivered once the books are released...I hope it will be a signed copy of yours..!

Looking forward to read this book of yours....All the Best for all your future writing endeavours !!!! Keep Smiling :-)

Thanks a lot Vidya/ Ashok Gupta ! I do hope you get a signed copy. (They will start sending from date of placing order--those who ordered before 24th October, get a preference for signed copies) Flipkart has started shipping already. Just by some small chance, if you don't get a signed copy, I will gladly sign it for you, when I visit your city.

Oh ! I checked the status and it says "Will ship once released"....so it reallllllllly looks like my chances of getting your signed copy is bleak ! And I live in the same city as yours, though I'm not sure where exactly you stay....! If I ever get to meet you somewhere, I am going to remind you of my copy to be signed :-)

Wow, that's true dedication. Thanks for posting this because when I receive my signed copy I'll know how much of hard work went into that signature on the first page and I'll treasure my copy just a bit more :)

And you found time to let us know that we'll get our author-signed copies soon !!! Thanks a lot, Ma'm :) Its really nice to know how hard you work to bring perfection to all that you do... Touch wood, and lots of hugs for that !! :)

You know what Ma'm, I was actually very late in ordering my copy of ' The Secret Wishlist'. In fact, I got it only two months back. Yet, I was surprised to see an author-signed copy. I really don't know how, despite my being so late in ordering it, I could get an author-signed copy !! So happy about it !!

My wife is a a huge fan of yours and we both have read all your prior books. This time I wanted to surprise her with an author signed book and when I handed her the book yesterday she was shell shocked to see that it was signed by one of her favorite authors "Preeti Shenoy" Thanks to you :)Waiting for her to finish reading (thats the norm, she has to read it first before i can start). :) :)

Keep up the great job you have been doing :) you are a true inspiration

I just received the copy from Flipkart....though I felt that the chances of getting a signed copy is less, I had a teeny meeny bit of hope, but as I had thought, I got an unsigned copy....But then, please do put up information when you will be available in Bangalore for events and I will be sure to bring my book to get your sign :-)

So much dedication towards the work... Love U for this ma'm...actually U should do what U love.. this is what i feel n even i do the same...n now by seeing your dedication i got more strength towards my work,Thank you so much ma'm.. U've really being an inspiration for me..

Lots of respect a humble thanks for taking this much efforts to sign the copies. But I must say I am the unfortunate one to get the pre-order copy without your lovely autograph on it :( I dont know how and why did this happen. I pre-ordered the copy from flipkart on 24th Nov and received it on 18th Dec. I deeply regret not to be amongst those readers for whom u took a lot of pain to sign. I wish one fine day I wud meet you and get my copy sign and click some gud pics..what say? :)

TOUCH was a wonderful read! The characters of Aman, Shruthi and Anjali is brought out very well...I felt sympathy for Shruthi in the end...The climax is depicted in the best possible way and I feel will be an inspiration for the youth who cannot get their loved ones! Definetely a blockbuster movie on the cards :)

Am very happie whenever i read your books... my favourite book on yours is " life is what you make it"..And i just love the title of all your books... "The one You Cannot Have is really awesome.... love always has two ends(Either happy or Sad)... i was very worried when shruthi left aman ..bt, i was very excited when aman decided to marrry anjali... No one had been hurted at last... vry happy ending.. Am looking forward forward for your upcoming books... wish you a great success!!!!!

First of all i really want appreciate to work and dedication for books.i started reading books so lately..The first book read by me is yours LIFE IS WHAT U MAKE IT..That bipolar disorder problem part really touched me and brought tears in to my eyes..after i read that book i narrated the story to my grandmother..she appreciated ur work and gave the blessings..then i showed ur blog to grandmother..she is loving each and every1 u have done..i take you as my inspiration and jus feeling u lyk my family..

mam as a request may i call you as akka? and till now i am unable 2get any signed copie of your books..if i get an autograph from you am really so happie nd honoured to get a valuable gift in my lyf..kind request

First of all i really appreciate your work and dedication for books.i started reading so lately..The first book read by me is LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT the part of bipolar disorder really touch my heart and brought tears in to my eyes..34 bubblegums and candies and secret wish it i read it later..enjoyed and awesome..And the one you cannot have book i bought still i haven't read mam..whenever i read your book i feel it so real that is the greatest part..i narrate your stories to grand mother she was jus amazed by your work you have done thru ur books and i showed ur blog to my grandmother she gave her blessings to you mam.she also became fan of yours..your my inspiration mam.feeling lyk family..waiting for lot more books..as fan nd a reader my kind request till now i unable to get ur signed books if u don mine can i get a autograph from you with a msg..if it happens to me i will really feel humbled and happie to get a valuable gift in my lyf ..and my dream came true..

Popular posts from this blog

All of us are guilty, at least to some extent of hoarding stuff. We hold on to old things--be it clothes, books, utensils, footwear, knick-knacks or some such, that form the minutiae of our daily lives. Many a time these add to the the clutter too. Rare is the home which looks like the above pic.

It is an entire philosophy, and a new approach. I read the book back to back, and immediately put into use the methods described in the book. I must tell you how wonderful I felt! I never thought that I could be that organised.

Clearing clutter, and the stuff that you no longer have use for, does release 'blocked energy.' There is no scientific or rational explanation for this. I only know that it works for me. Any Feng Shui practitioner and loads of Eastern Schools of belief will confirm this.

Dreams are goals with a deadline. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. I am a huge believer of these two statements.

Many a time, I have been asked this question
'How do you do so many things? How do you focus on your goals? How are you so dedicated?'

Many have written to me asking me to share my routine/ time-management/how I organise my day. So here goes:

Currently I am doing a challenge called Intkober where you do 31 drawings in Ink, in 31 days. The prompts are given in advance. Click on the link to know more. Thousands of artists all over the world do it, each year. I post my drawings on myInstagram art handle.

This is in addition to my writing which I do daily. I also make a portrait every single day, apart from Inktober.

I guess, to most people who see this, it looks like a LOT of things and they wonder how I manage it. Here are five things I do, which help me. (and I hope they help you too)

The last few days have been tumultuous for everyone in urban India. If you are a working professional, or have worked at some point in your life, or if you strongly believe in gender equality, it is hard to not get affected by the #Metoo movement. The #Metoo movement has taken off in India, like the metaphorical snowball. I too, like many of you, have been following closely, in shocked silence, as it has been unfolding. I can't tell you how happy I am that women in India, are standing up in solidarity, taking back their dignity.

Several powerful men have been named.The stories have come POURING out.
I shall not go into details of the men named or the incidents here, as it is all over the media.
When
something happens in your field of interest, it is natural that it
affects you more than the incidents that happen in other fields. For me,
what has been particularly disturbing was that the names from the field
of literature that were coming out as well.